Best of 2003: Best Mcdonald's With Live Music

McDonald's at 54th and El Cajon Boulevard, East San Diego
619-287-0359

Every Tuesday night, from 6 to 8 p.m., the San Diego Banjo Band plays a free concert inside this red-and-white McDonald's. As many as a dozen musicians show up with banjos, fiddles, horns, and quirky folk instruments. The place fills up with dancing oldsters (there's a senior citizens' apartment complex next door), but all ages are welcome. Kids can play on the climbing structure, and if the music gets too loud, you can escape to an outdoor, glass-fronted eating patio.